copy protection for VCDs

[asksergey]

wondering if there's a way to copy protect VCDs?

[Craig Tucker]

No, not effectively. You can make a disc more difficult to copy by packing it out to just above the maximum capacity of an 80 min disc and enabling overburning. Capture some blank video, just enough to exceed the capacity of the disc, merge it to your existing MPEG and overburn your VCD. This makes it difficult for people with limited knowledge to do a basic disc copy. But anyone who knows what they're doing can simply extract the MPEG and cut of the blank footage and reburn the VCD.

Craig

[jeex]

he's on to something. i actually developed a method that cannot be copied with any cd burning program.. i've tried like hell to copy them, but i still cannot..

what you do is add "dummy data" like a screen at the end of the movie that says "please insert disc 2" or "the end".. make it up to something like 85 minutes, so the burn fails, because you cant actually burn that much data.. once you've created the mpeg file, use vcdimager, create the bin/cue's, then go to cdmediaworld.com .. look under copy protections, download winlock, it adds a bunch of dummy tracks.. then burn the disc, it will fail, but the disc will play the movie just fine in a cd-rom or dvd player, atleast for me, and i've tested quite a few devices..

the only way i found to copy these discs is to use vcdgear and have it extract the mpeg from the .dat file from the cd-r, then cut the mpeg to a size that it would fit on a regular cd-r..

of course this would take someone with some knowledge to do it.. i'm making a guide on this protection right now.. its really only intended to stop casually copying.. its not going to stop someone determined or in the know..

[freak_ch]

hi
i've a question about this copy protection: what do you understand about "make a 85 min long mpeg movie with loops"? should i make a normal 85min long mpeg movie with looped content or do i need a tool or should i change something in the data of a mpeg?
thank you for help,
Feak

[rion]

make a 85 min long mpeg movie with loops"? should i make a normal 85min long mpeg movie with looped content or do i need a tool or should i change something in the data of a mpeg?


I think you could use adobe After Effects for that,just put in any still pictures setting for 85 mins. that's still in avi though and then re-encode with your avi to mpeg-vcd format software

[freak_ch]

Thanks!

Will try that...

Happy evenin'

freak_CH

PS: Greetings from Switzerland

[better life]

Well, I've gotten a new interesting thing (at least to me).
I open the VCD at my computer, there is nothing. So I open in isobuster, I see the .DAT files but I cann't extract them because the size is zero, and I cann't find any .DAT file has something. Does this make sence to you guys? What can I do?

[RabidDog]

Hmmm never heard of 90/99 min cdr's ? This must be the first thing they(newbie copiers) would think of?

[Craig Tucker]

Hmmm never heard of 90/99 min cdr's ?

Most people here have, but I bet 9 out of 10 general PC users have'nt.

[jeex]

not to mention the fact that you're trying to burn 85 minutes of data on to an 80 minute cd-r. i know some will allow for overburning, just burn as much as it takes for the disc to fail.

if they try to copy the cd-r it will error out before completing.

[FourthWiseMonkey]

You can always try using freelock, i use it for vcds i lend and i know people have tried to copy them and havent been able to, all they do is make coasters. But if they knew what they were doing they would be able to copy no problem.

https://www.videohelp.com/forum/userguides/107898.php

[hech54]

You can always try using freelock, i use it for vcds i lend and i know people have tried to copy them and havent been able to, all they do is make coasters. But if they knew what they were doing they would be able to copy no problem.

https://www.videohelp.com/forum/userguides/107898.php

CCDLock works well for Audio CD's...it might work for VCD's too....never tried it though. It works in conjunction with CloneCD.
Might even be the same as Freelock?

[vcd4ever]

The best way to copyprotect a vcd is imo by doing this: add some dummy tracks, change the lead-out, make it more difficult to extract the mpeg from the dat-file or mpeg-track by using isobuster or vcdgear.

vcd4ever.

[Nokiamania]

The best way to copyprotect a vcd is imo by doing this: add some dummy tracks, change the lead-out, make it more difficult to extract the mpeg from the dat-file or mpeg-track by using isobuster or vcdgear.

vcd4ever.

How can you change the lead-out? and by changing the lead out, how will it affect the extraction of the mpeg from the dat-file by programs such as isobuster and vcdgear?

Thanks!

[MOVIEGEEK]

How can you change the lead-out? and by changing the lead out, how will it affect the extraction of the mpeg from the dat-file by programs such as isobuster and vcdgear?

Thanks!

That's the problem with copy-protecting CD's,it's only good for the casual user that doesn't know about IsoBuster or unhiding files in Windows.

[Cornucopia]

Say you've made a copy-protected AudioCD or VideoCD using the above methods. Still plays, right?

This is way to get around that:
1. Hook up audio and/or video cables from output of settop to input of capture card.
2. Record as you play it.
3. Edit it as you like. Done. No copy protection.

Sure, this loses a little in the D/A and A/D conversion, but if somebody wants the stuff, it's not so difficult--doesn't take a brain surgeon to figure out.

(Obviously, DVD's may not work as easily if they had the macrovision flag)

Scott

[Nokiamania]

Say you've made a copy-protected AudioCD or VideoCD using the above methods. Still plays, right?

This is way to get around that:
1. Hook up audio and/or video cables from output of settop to input of capture card.
2. Record as you play it.
3. Edit it as you like. Done. No copy protection.

Sure, this loses a little in the D/A and A/D conversion, but if somebody wants the stuff, it's not so difficult--doesn't take a brain surgeon to figure out.

(Obviously, DVD's may not work as easily if they had the macrovision flag)

Scott

Yes, no matter how good is your protection, one can always play and record using a TV card, that is already an accepted fact.

At least when your vcd is copy-protected, they won't be able to copy your vcds easily, if they use the method Cornucopia is suggesting, they will need to spend a lot of time to be able to copy it and considering they need to have a good tv tuner and sound card or else video and audio quality will degrade.

What i want to learn is how to make a copy protected vcd that even isobuster and vcdgear cannot be use to extract the mpeg file.

[Cornucopia]

I haven't seen a method yet (for VCD or CDDA) that successfully thwarts attempts to copy via ISOBuster, VCDGear, CloneCD, BlindRead, etc. (Or combinations of those)

Scott

[BelfegorX]

Well, I've gotten a new interesting thing (at least to me).
I open the VCD at my computer, there is nothing. So I open in isobuster, I see the .DAT files but I cann't extract them because the size is zero, and I cann't find any .DAT file has something. Does this make sence to you guys? What can I do?

Extract using TOC diferences. Read the CCD file and you have the answer you need

You are in breach of the forum rules and are being issued with a formal warning. Quit replying to all these threads that are many months or years old.
/ Moderator lordsmurf